Firſt, You ſhew your ſelves that you cannot endure ſound doctrine, in telling you where you are, and what you are, what you hold up, and what you worſhip.

Secondly, You ſhew your ſelves to be thoſe that have not ſalt to ſavour withal; and he that hath not ſalt to ſavour withall, is good for nothing, but to be trodden under foot of men.

Thirdly, You are amongſt thoſe falſe Prophets, and Prieſts, that bear rule by their Means, and propheſie for money; which ſpeak ſmooth things, and ſow pillows under your Arm-holes; who ſpeak a Divination of their own brain, and not from the mouth of the Lord: The Lord ſent his Prophets to diſtinguiſh and judge, to put a difference betwixt the holy, and profane, betwixt the precious and the vile.

Fourthly, You are amongſt them that ſeek for their gain from their quarter, and ſpend your money for that which is not bread; ſo call evil good, and good evil; and put light for darkneſs, and darkneſs for light; ſuch were in their generation formerly, ſuch are in your generation now, in nature; ſo you are lofty and haughty, and do oppreſs the Innocent and Juſt: here the Prophet, and Prophets, were able to judge, to make a difference between the precious and the vile, the clean and the unclean; and ſaid, this is the man whom the Lord regards, who is of an humble and broken heart, and trembleth at my word; here is true Judgement: and the ſame Prophet ſaid, all the children of the Lord, are taught of the Lord, and eſtabliſhed in righteouſneſs, which the Prophets of the world deny.

Fifthly, You are amongſt ſuch, and follow ſuch as ſeek for the Fleece, who make a prey upon you, and cloth themſelves with the wool, and are wandring abroad in the cloudy and dark day: the Lord ſent the Son of man, which was the Prophet to Judge them, Judge them a Son of man, who was to put a difference between the holy and profane.

Sixthly, You are amongſt them, and follow ſuch as are Hirelings, which the Lord ſent his Prophets to cry againſt, who bite with their teeth, and cry peace, peace, if you put into their mouths; if not, they prepare war againſt you, as you may ſee by your Teachers.

Seventhly, You are ſuch as hold up the Idols Temple, in the outward, which the Lord ſent his Prophet Hoſea to cry againſt; ſo you have many fenced Cities, but the Lord will ſend a fire to conſume them; here was a ſavour and diſcerning of them, who had forgot the Lord; then they builded Temples: here was true Judgement upon them that had backſlided and forſaken the Lord God; do not think your ſelves wiſer in your generation then your forefathers, but ſottiſher, as the Prophet ſaith, Sottiſh children.

Eighthly, You are amongſt them, and follow ſuch Prophets as walk out of the commands of God; as I ſhall make it appear hereafter, whoſe bleſſings are curſed, whoſe ſeed is corrupt; the Lord will ſpread dung upon their faces, who call the proud happy, and in this generation you are Prieſts and People; he had true Judgement that Judged this; and diſcerning and ſalt, who ſpoke of a people that feared the Lord, and thought upon his Name, and met often together, and they ſhall be mine ſaith the Lord, in that day that I make up my Jewels: And this we witneſs to be true, as the Scripture ſpeaks: And you are in that condition, holding up the Songs of the Temple, which the Lord ſent Amos to cry againſt, ſaying, that their ſongs ſhould be turned into howling; and of all their unjuſt dealings, who when he was queſtioned what he was, he ſaid he was a Heardſman; ſuch an one now would be an abomination to you, he had a ſpirit of diſcerning.

Ninthly, You are amongſt them, and hold ſuch up as are called of men Maſters, ſtand praying in the Synagogues, love ſalutations in the Markets; which lay heavy burdens upon the people, and devour widows houſes with a pretence, making long prayers; which our Lord Jeſus Chriſt forbad and denyed, and cryed woe againſt. And this ſpoke he to the multitude, and to his Diſciples, and bid them beware of the Scribes, and Phariſees, and their doctrine; and yet you profeſs Chriſt, and make him your cloak, and yet you hold up the doctrine of the Phariſees, which Chriſt cryed woe againſt; ſhewing your ſelves to be in that generation which perſecute the Truth, as they did.

Tenthly, You are in that nature that they were in that ſtoned Stephen to death; when he came to be examined before the Prieſts, they ſaid he ſpoke againſt the holy Temple, and the Law; and when he denied the Temple, and ſhewed the figures they lived in, they run and gnaſhed upon him with their teeth, and ſtoned him to death; you have made it openly appear in England, in divers places, in halling out of your Temples, and ſtoning, and ſtriking; bunching, beating, and impriſoning, but the mighty power of the mighty God preſerves his Lambs from blood ſuckers, and this blood-thirſty generation a ſeed of evil doers.

Now do not call this r • ſh Judgement, its Scripture language, you are amongſt them that run af • er Balaam, and go in the way of Cain, who erred from the Truth, and he that erred from the Truth, lived in envy (ſo do you ſtill) who ſought to murther the righteous where ever it was brought forth, as your generation doth which hath erred from the truth, in the way of Cain, to murther and deſtroy the righteous where its brought forth, who walks out of the commands of God and the Prophets; here they had ſavour and true Judgement, and ſalt in themſelves; and did exhort to true Judgement, and to have ſalt in themſelves, to ſavour withall; the falſe Prophets, the falſe Apoſtles, the Antichriſts, they have not a diſcerning, they have not a ſavour, and do not ſpeak from the mouth of the Lord; But the true Prophets, Apoſtles, and Chriſt, theſe had all ſavour and diſcerning, to Judge between light and darkneſs, truth from evil, as they grew up in the truth, and meaſure; and they ſaw who was the beaſt, which all the world wonders after, and who had their names written in the book of life; here was Judgement and diſtinguiſhing, which the falſe Prophets had not, nor have not now; they knew election, reprobation, and condemnation, which none of the falſe Prophets of the world knew; and they ſaw who was without the truth, and ſome they called beaſts, ſome dogs, and ſome they called ſwine, ſome wolves, ſome they called Lyons, ſome as fed horſes, neighing after their luſts, and neighbours wives, ſome as wilde Aſſes, ſnuffing up their noſes in the Air, ſome as tall Cedars, ſome as ſtrong Oaks, ſome as fat Bulls, ſome full of poiſon, ſome a generation of vipers (yet ſuch would confeſs Abraham) and ſome as deaf adders; ſome are called the children of the devill; they are called the children of the devil, which are not the children of God, and all theſe natures are amongſt you, you cannot deny it, in your generations, which holds up the outward worſhip, Prieſts and People, Profeſſors, Rulers, and Magiſtrates, ſo called. Now do not call this railing, its Scripture language, given forth by the eternal ſpirit, true figures upon that nature, and generation which was from God, having an eternal Judgement: Now to call a dog a Lamb, it were a lye; and to call a horſe a ſheep, were a lye; or to call a ſerpent a dove, were a lye; but the true ſervants of God had true Iudgement and diſcerning, to ſpeak theſe names in their places, to its nature; but you in your generation, give theſe names upon them which are in the ſame nature that gave them forth, for that is falſe Iudgement, which cannot abide reproof, nor ſound doctrine: God is come, and coming to put a difference betwixt the clean, and the unclean, and between the profane and holy, and between thoſe that ſerve him, and thoſe that ſerve him not; this is Scripture language, which the wicked cannot bear in practice, and life, nor to hear their conditions in words ſpoken to them.

This was I moved to write forth to them that are without, and them that are within, that are growing up into Iudgement, and to them that do not underſtand Iudgement, that their minds may be informed to examine where they are, by the light of God within them; the Lord is making a ſeparation, whether you be ſeparated from God, or to God, the light within will tell you, and that which ſhould exerciſe your conſcience, will tell you, hearkening to it; but that generation is ſeparated from God, I do know, in which lodgeth perſecution, and all the righteous blood hath been ſhed by this generation, that now is ſtanding in nature, who drink the blood of the Saints, and make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb ſhall get the victory; praiſes, praiſes be to the Lord God Almighty.

Thou art blind that canſt not diſcern betwixt Iacob and Eſau; and thou art blind that ſayeſt Iacob is Eſau; and thou art blind that ſayeſt Cain is Abel; and thou art blind that ſayeſt Iſhmael is Iſaac; and thou art blind that ſayeſt ſuch as are called of men Maſters, ſtand praying in the Synogogues, lay heavy burdens upon the people, are the Miniſters of Chriſt, which Chriſt cryed woe againſt: And thou art blind are fooliſh, Ier. 5. that holdeſt up ſuch Prieſts, as bear rule by their means; and thou art blind, and art made a prey upon, that holdeſt up ſuch ſhepherds as ſeek for the Fleece, and cloath with the wool, which the Lord ſent his Prophets to cry againſt; and thou art blind that ſayeſt, ſuch as ſeek for their gain from their quarter, and run greedily after the error of Balaam, for gifts and rewards, are the Miniſters of Chriſt; And the Scripture will teſtifie againſt thee it ſelf; and thou owneſt not the Prophets and Apoſtles, but art againſt them, and ſo into the ditch thou muſt go, into deſtruction (who art blind, and led with the blind) except thou ſpeedily repent.

Chriſts ſheep know his voice, and they know the voice of a ſtranger: the true Prophets knew who ſpoke from the mouth of the Lord, and who ſpoke a divination of their own brain; ſo it is now; the Saints that are ſeaſoned, have ſalt in themſelves, have ſavoury to diſcern of others; and to ſome is given the gift of diſcerning of Spirits; And the ſpiritual man judgeth all things, but he himſelf is judged of no man; he that cannot endure ſound Judgement, is not of the truth, for Zion is redeemed through judgement, and they that ſew pillows, are falſe Prophets: therefore every one own your • udgement and your Portion, and ſuch a name as belongs to your nature, and deceive not your ſelves nor others, for the Saints know that they are of God, and that the whole world, Prieſts, People, and Profeſſors, who have not the life of what they do profeſs, lye in wickedneſs.